The fencing industry is driven in large part by the costs of materials and labor associated with the construction of fences. Because of this, inexpensive fencing materials that can reduce the amount of labor required are highly desirable. Affixing the fence fabric to a fence post is an important and repetitive step in most fence installations. For this reason, an inexpensive fence tie that facilitates high quality fastening with reduced time and effort can improve upon the time and cost associated with building fences.
Information relevant to attempts to address these needs can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,735,508 entitled TIE AND METHOD FOR SECURING FENCE FABRIC TO SUPPORTS; 385,318 entitled IMPLEMENT FOR BENDING WIRE; 1,460,936 entitled FENCEPOST ATTACHMENT; 2,795,399 entitled SNOW FENCE; 1,190,080 entitled FENCE-POST 1,153,380 entitled FENCE POST; 1,667,463 entitled FASTENING DEVICE FOR FENCING, ETC.; 5,275,383 entitled METHOD AND WIRE TIE CONNECTION FOR SECURING FENCING FABRIC TO POSTS; 1,667,463 entitled FASTENING DEVICE FOR FENCING, ETC. and United States Patent Application Publication 2004/0016917 entitled DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TWIST FASTENING WIRE. However, each of the above references suffer from at least one of the following deficiencies: longer installation time, lack of an adequate indicator of wire tension, difficulties in opening and closing the fence tie, higher cost of installation, and poor reliability and durability in service. For the foregoing reasons there is a need for an inexpensive fence tie that facilitates high quality fastening with reduced time and effort, and methods for applying such fence ties.